Turkey--Day 7--Stupendous Apsendos!

For our last full day in Turkey, we decided to drive past Perga to Aspendos, where--ostensibly--the best preserved Roman amphitheater in Asia Minor is located. Although we'd sworn off ancient ruins, we had to break that rule. And we were glad we did.

Unlike the Colosseum in Rome, this theater can be explored from the well to the rafters.

You can also enter the arena through the tunnels like a gladiator.

It's really something to stand at the top and look out toward the mountains.

Everyone made the long trek to the top. But those steps are a lot bigger (and steeper) than they look!


The Aspendos site is very large and hilly, but the girls and I were done exploring, so we stayed below while Alan hiked around a bit. It's hard to see, but the two little pink shapes are the girls, who are making "mud soup" for their imaginary pets. I am trying to decipher the official pamphlet that came with admission. It's completely incomprehensible. Like someone wrote it in Turkish and used Google to change it to another language in a completely different language family. The one thing I did understand is that the city's inhabitants tried to trick Alexander the Great. That didn't work out so well.

On the hill, Alan saw the remains of the basilica...

...as well as the aqueduct.

We had an enjoyable and interesting trip to Aspendos. It is a beautiful area. Very green with gently rolling hills that rise toward the Taurus Mountains.

Next up: It's a wrap.